Women’s Representation and Legitimacy Beliefs: Survey Evidence from Liberia

• In Event: Gender & Public Opinion

Abstract

What does women’s presence in political decision-making mean to citizens in fragile democracies? Previous work from the United States suggests that women legitimize decision-making processes and confer institutional trust and acquiescence (Clayton, O’Brien & Piscopo 2019). Yet, whether and how this finding translates to democratizing states is unknown. We test the relationship between representation and legitimacy beliefs through a survey experiment on a nationally representative sample of Liberian citizens. Respondents react to hypothetical vignettes about a newly formed legislative committee that is set to enact democratizing reforms. We vary the composition of the committee to be all-male, gender-balanced, or without reference to the gender makeup. Our expectation is that Liberian citizens will evaluate the gender-balanced committee as fairer and more trustworthy than the all-male committee or the control. Our results (expected in May 2021) will shed light on an empirically underexplored benefit to women’s political leadership in democratizing states. Understanding when citizens are likely to perceive their political institutions as democratically legitimate is key to understanding the prospects of continued democratization in fragile states.

Authors

• Luis A. Camacho, NORC at the University of Chicago

• Amanda Clayton, Vanderbilt University

• Zoe Grotophorst, NORC at the University of Chicago